Hurricane Sandy and its seemingly unending aftermath for thousands of Staten Islanders is one of those defining, cataclysmic events in the collective memory of a community.

Maybe we won't refer to pre-Sandy and post-Sandy eras as some tended to do with 9/11, but its astonishing devastation affected many aspects of life in this borough.

It appears one of those aspects may be the willingness on the part of some of our neighbors to look forward and regain their optimism. The storm seems to have colored the views — at least temporarily — of some, even those who were not seriously affected. And they want their views to influence the future.

That tendency has been most notable in civic discussions about the New York Wheel project scheduled to be built on the St. George waterfront in the next several years.

Sandy seems to have inspired naysayers of all stripes.

There are those who worry that the supersized 625-foot observation wheel and adjacent 100-store outlet center could not survive a comparable storm.

Certainly, the developers who are investing $500 million — all their own money, not government's — in the combined project are well aware of the issue.

The Wheel project had already been planned so that its ground levels are to be built above the federal government's current hundred-year flood mark.

Wheel developer Richard Marin conceded that the storm gave him "pause," but insisted that the Wheel will be built so that that electrical and mechanical equipment will be 30 feet above sea level. And the base will constructed out of materials that are impervious to seawater, such as marble.

The structure itself is being designed to withstand sustained winds up to 129 mph. That's far stronger even than what Sandy hurled at Staten Island.

Meanwhile, the outlet center and 200-room hotel planned for the site are going to be raised another few feet higher than originally planned to place them well above flood stage.

BFC Partners, the firm developing the mall and hotel, is looking at the possibility of other protections, such as using water-resistant building materials and using the large garages to retain water in the event of a storm surge. But some residents are still wary, as are the Independent Budget Office, a watchdog agency, and the Municipal Arts Society.

They claim that if the Wheel and other waterfront projects are undertaken without a citywide analysis of coastal building in general, it "increases the risk that the next 'superstorm' will exact an even higher price tag," IBO spokesman Doug Turetsky blogged recently.

Really? We're not sure his alarmism is warranted. How does the Wheel, which is not dense like a building and does not present a solid face to wind and rain, affect hydrological conditions on the North Shore waterfront?

And do city regulators and those who advocate that they intervene have a flood-proof ideal they can point to? It's not like such projects are built all the time.

We think the best guarantee of the project's durability and safety is the fact that private investors are willing to put a lot of their own money into it. They don't want to see that investment washed away for lack of proper planning.

As for the complaint from some that any discussion of the project is somehow unseemly at this time, we're baffled. The privately financed Wheel doesn't detract from recovery efforts. Some would say it complements them.

Does positive development on Staten Island have to be put on hold indefinitely because we suffered a catastrophic storm a few months ago? What's the difference between the Wheel and other, less notable building projects that are proceeding without objection?

Borough President James Molinaro maintains that the Wheel must go forward because "We have to show the community, and we have to show the world, we're coming back."

Nothing so rah-rah is necessary. We don't think Staten Island has to show anybody anything. But all of us not directly affected do have to get past dwelling on the disaster and move forward into what we hope is a better future and embrace positive change. That's the healthy thing to do.

Sure, there are kinks to be worked out, as you might expect with any project so colossal. But having a world-class attraction being planned for our front door certainly fills the bill in terms of moving forward.